Allergies

[lovin2shop]

How exciting to be the first post! I'm a devotee of the Baby Bargains board and have a medical question - At what age do babies or children start to show signs of seasonal allergies? My one year old has had a lingering cough for 10 weeks. I've taken him to the dr. several times, but we can't seem to come up with a solution. He is perfectly healthy during the day but coughs all night long. His lungs are clear and he does not wheez. My dr. said that allergies are a possiblility (both my husband and I suffer), but that he is still very young and it would be atypical to have allergies this early. Anyone else experience something like this?

TIA,
Amy

[JulieL]

My whole family has allergy problems as well as asthma so I asked our ped when our son was born. He said to have an allergy you have to be introduced to the allergin several times before an allergy can be developed. He also said it ususally takes a few years before they show up in a small child. Of course this is just his take. Here is an odd suggestion, change your air filters and see if that helps. There are other measures you can take in your own home to help make it more allergin safe. But I sappose you may already know this. Not sure if this is helpful, but is my experiance. I am praying to God that our son does have to take all the meds I did as a small child, thankfully I have mostly outgrown them.

[yhtking]

I too had asthma when I was young. Did your ped say what's the likilyhood of babies having asthma?

Thanks.

[mom2kandj]

If you or your partner have any of the following: allergies, eczema, or asthma, the chances of your child having any or a combination of the three goes up. DH and I both had childhood asthma and seasonal allergies. DD has all three! She is moderately allergic to dairy, eggs, oranges, cats, dogs, and horses. She has mild eczema on her body and severe eczema on her hands and feet. She has had only one asthma attack brought on by a virus. We hope that the asthma was a onetime deal and that she will grow out of the allergies and eczema. It is a day to day battle with food and scratching! We thought DS was free and clear of all three, but we are noticing a mild intolerance to dairy. He begins a dairy elimination this weekend and if it is not the dairy, it may be eggs. We never really noticed the dairy sensitivity due to the fact that he just drinks his sister's soymilk and eats soy yogurt! I'd ask your ped for a referral to a ped allergist to get another opinion. 10 weeks for a cough is a bit long for me. HTH!


Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[lovin2shop]

Thanks for all of the info. Do you know what kind of testing a Pediatric Allergist would do on a one year old? I'm at my wits end with this coughing. We are scheduled to go back to our Pediatrician on Wednesday for his one year check up. We thankfully have not had any problems with food or dairy allergies even though I had them as a baby. I am really concerned about this turning into asthma. However, I have had allergy testing before, and I would really hate to subject my son to that already. What has been your experience with the Pediatric Allergist?

Amy (mom to Drew, almost 1!)

[mom2kandj]

There are various tests for allergies in small children. Our ped allergist preferred a scratch test for DD rather than a blood test as she was only 4 months old at the time. For a scratch test, they will take 1-3 grids with different allergens on them and press them onto your child's back. Then they take a sharpie and mark the placement and grid #. They use the back for testing, because people can't easily reach back to scratch and skew the results. She was not tested for grasses and weeds. After the grids were done, we waited for about 10-15 minutes and then the doc came back and evaluated the scratches and scored them based on intensity of reaction. She was also given a bit of Benadryl to combit the itching. She is currently taking Zyrtec and Singulair for her allergies and not receiving any shots. FWIW, a good ped allergist will be able to take care of all three conditions. We are very lucky that our doc is also up to date on all the latest treatments for allergies, eczema and asthma. Dr. Berger is the author of Allergies for Dummies. HTH!


Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[lovin2shop]

Thank you so much for the information, it is very helpful to know what to expect!

[JulieL]

I remember this very same test done on me when I was about 8 or so, and it is one of my WORST memories as a child. I cried the whole time, because I had a reaction to every one but 2. I am not sure, being a mom now, that I would put my son through this, unless I had to. My step mom had to hold my hands in front of me to keep me from scratching while I bawled my eyes out. So not for everyone is this a no big deal procedure. I would see if there was an alteritive. Just my two cents worth.

[emmiem]

My DD started coughing at night when we moved into a new house. She was about two at the time. My ped started her on Zytec right away. Said it was allergies due to carpet, new house dust, etc. Took away the problem.

[lovin2shop]

Here's my update - went to the doc. yesterday. He is concerned that it is asthma as he thought that he heard a bit of wheezing. I'm supposed to give him albuterol aerosol treatments for the next week and bring him back in on Wednesday. I'm very nervous about this as my parents and my in-laws both think that my Ped. is just plain wrong. The doctor was reluctant to prescribe Zyrtec in case it is asthma. So, I'm going to try this for the week and maybe get a second opinion after the next appointment. Thanks for all of the input!

Amy (Mommy to Drew 9/3/02)

[mom2kandj]

As your DS gets closer to age 2, your doc maybe able to prescribe Singulair which is primarily a chewable asthma med(for ages 2-5) that also has had good results for those with allergies. If he is wheezing, the albuterol should help him breath better and hopefully clear up his lungs well enough so that the doc can pinpoint the trigger. I'd definitely see what happens at the next appointment and go from there. HTH!

BTW - Jack did much better with the dairy elimination and I'm leaning towards dairy allergy versus lactose intolerance as he gets hives if he smears ranch dressing on his face. I'll be asking my ped for authorization for him to see the ped allergist also. Oh well....


Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)